People could happen to move to town halls and parliaments by lot, and manual jobs could be raised and taxes distributed more equitably: three outcomes of months of discussions by French citizens with their government. This had asked for the wishes of the country – and came out of the yearning for a human and citizen-friendly country. Premier Édouard Philippe presented the first results of the „Europe’s largest popular debate“. His conclusion: „Frenchmen demand more fraternity and proximity to the state, they want to be more involved in decisions and fight climate change.“
French President Emmanuel Macron launched the „Great National Debate“ in December to remove hundreds of thousands of yellow vests from the streets. They have been demonstrating every Saturday since November for more social justice, sometimes with brute force. Macron organized nationwide rounds of talks and let the French register online claims. A clever idea, also because Macron was constantly on the stage of any village as in the election campaign and discussed in front of cameras running.
Now the talk has ended and the liberal president can proudly say that such a huge debate has rarely occurred in Europe, with over 1.5 million people involved. They have discussed thousands of events with politicians and have left more than three million suggestions on the dedicated website – that’s 132 times as much text as the mammoth work The Elves of Victor Hugo, predicted the Le Monde.
Contradictory demands
Just as groundbreaking, however, according to Prime Minister Philippe, the consequences are now: „We must not shy away from grand laws, any restraint is unforgivable in my eyes.“ With that, Philippe raises the bar for coming laws to follow from the debate: Macron will introduce them in a few days.
His big dilemma: The project lasting months has raised so much expectations that only far-reaching laws can fulfill them. But Macron’s liberal-economic program is often incompatible with the demands of the Yellow West, such as higher taxes for rich people – Macron had abolished the wealth tax right at the beginning of his term.
In addition, the demands in the debate are highly contradictory: a large majority want fewer MPs in parliaments, but just as many want to be closer to their politicians. Equally incompatible: Three-quarters want to pay less taxes – but more public, so tax-financed offers such as smaller school classes or better retirement homes. The participants want to spend less in one area only: The majority demanded that less money be invested in the military.
